Be Wary of the t, Part 1/The Man Who Fell in Love with a Witch
is the first chapter of the Futo Detective manga. Synopsis The cases of the Narumi Detective Agency continue as a new string of Dopant crimes occur with Shotaro investigating an odd case where a client named Chuuta Tsubosaki asks the detective...to find a witch?! Plot The story opens on a Sunday night in Futo with Shotaro doing his usual narration about being the city's protector, when he decides to snap a "cool" picture of himself with the Stag Phone on the docks somewhere close to Futo Tower. He examines the photo and is pleased, thinking it captures the essence of a "moving, living man" and sends it. His thoughts are interrupted when Akiko calls him on the phone and yells at him for the picture, thinking he is goofing off when Shotaro was trying to show her how "hardboiled and cool" he is. Akiko screams and berates him again as they have a client coming to the agency, oddly late at night. Shotaro decides to head back to not incur the wrath of Akiko, muttering that she "hasn't mellowed out even a bit even after she got married". On his way, he sees a beautiful young woman standing on the docks and is entranced by her and the sexy clothes she is wearing. Thinking she is his "type" and blushing, Shotaro walks up to her and does some (really terrible) flirting, commenting if her "chest weapons" got any closer to him they would run right through his heart. Her silence makes him realize what he just said might have made her not like him at all, but she replies she is "always hungry" and asks if he can "satisfy her". Shotaro confuses this statement for her being a lady of the evening and says he is a "poor detective" who cannot afford the margin for her services and is even more embarrassed. He apologizes to her and walks off, stating in thought that the woman is "dangerous" as she can draw the eyes of perverts and criminals and he should go home right away. Shotaro suddenly realizes the direction the woman was walking leads off the pier and into the sea and tries to stop her, only for the woman to vanish completely. At the Narumi Detective Agency, Akiko compares the photo Shotaro took to an old photograph of her father Sokichi Narumi she found in the archives. She says her father's photo is more hardboiled than Shotaro's as he is just a "half-boiled narcissist" as she sees the photo Shotaro took as a pretentious attempt to look cool. Shotaro feels humiliated at being tormented by being called "half-boiled" and says that anyone would look lower in comparison to Sokichi. Akkio slaps him upside the head with her slipper for back talking and for being late coming back. Shotaro tries to explain, but Akiko thinks its just a half-baked excuse and threatens to hit him with two slippers. Shotaro begs her not to mess up his hair anymore and apologizes, only to be saved in the nick of time by the client ringing the doorbell. The client comes in and the two greet him, the man introducing himself as Chuuta Tsubosaki. At first, he is shy about stating his request. Akiko mentions they can solve any problem including finding lost cats, which infuriates Shotaro as he is a "hardboiled" detective and using finding cats to endorse the agency to a client is a stain on his reputation. Chuuta finally speaks up and says he wants the Agency to find...a witch, much to the bewilderment of Akiko and Shotaro. Chuuta mentions that he heard about the agency from a co-worker and the fact they deal with strange events. Akiko thinks he is mistaken as they are not a special paranormal investigation service but Shotaro is willing to hear Mr. Tsubosaki's story to get an idea of his client's problem. Shotaro narrates details on Mr. Tsubosaki, that he is the 32 year old son of a poor farming family in Hokkaido who moved to Futo last week to get an office job and sends a portion of his pay from to support his family. Chuuta explains he is a simple, honest man who has no hobbies and spends most of his days working hard and earnestly to support himself and his loved ones. During one night a week ago, he withdrew money from the bank his family had scraped together so he could buy some furniture for his new apartment and put it in a black leather bag. On his way to the furniture store, he encountered a beautiful young woman on the street, his "witch", and mentions that she said something strange, she was "always hungry" and "needed to be satisfied". Shotaro recognizes these phrases and realizes it is from the same woman he encountered earlier. Chuuta said as a man from the country, he had never seen a woman from the city before and thought she was beautiful, possibly a model from a magazine. The woman looked pale and had sunken "dark" eyes, which Chuuta thought was because she was malnourished and really hungry for food. Out of sympathy, Chuuta opened his bag to give her a few Yen so she could buy a meal. But, she somehow swiped his bag with all the money in it by making the bag levitate in the air and move toward her so she could grab it. She then told Chuuta not to follow as she is a witch. Chuuta tells Shotaro that he panicked a second afterward and began to chase the thief down, but could not catch up to her as she seemingly was running on air and moving faster than a regular human. During his chase, he somehow ended up in a place he didn't recognize and lost her. When he searched around, he finally found a corner that was familiar, a three way T junction on Yunagi Street. The strange part of this was the street Chuuta left to get to the Yunagi Street junction became the wall of a building, he came out from a street that was a dead end. Shotaro and Chuuta's conversation is interrupted by a loud "Thud!", which startles Chuuta. Shotaro apologizes as that is his partner Philip, who is sleeping and probably fell out of bed, tired after "reading too many books". Shotaro asks if the case is simply to find and capture the woman and retrieve the bag. Chuuta is a bit evasive as he does want his bag back as that is a prized possession of his family, but is unsure about catching the woman. Akiko is curious as to why he cares more about the bag than getting his money back, which Chuuta is shy about. Shotaro asks how much money was in the bag with Chuuta responding it was about 28,000 yen. Shotaro reminds Chuuta that his services do come with a fee, concerned about his client's financial situation after being robbed, and wonders why he came to him instead of calling the Futo Police Department. Chuuta blushes and Shotaro's deductive reasoning fills in the blanks, realizing that Chuuta wants to see that woman again. Chuuta confesses he is head over heels in love with the beautiful thief and wants to try to stop her and convince her to change her ways. His feelings for her were so strong he didn't have the heart to call the police as that would mean not seeing her again. After thinking about it and taking his client's feelings into consideration, Shotaro agrees to take on the case much to the joy of Chuuta. After Chuuta leaves, Shotaro confesses to Akiko he had seen the woman Chuuta described earlier while enjoying his coffee. Akiko assumes that he almost fell "under the witch's spell" but spared him because she sensed he had no money. Shotaro spits out his coffee and denies this and thinks she sensed his "hard boiled mystique" which intimidated her. Nevertheless, Shotaro now knows what she looks like and is ready to begin his search. Philip wakes up from his rest and is interested in the case, but Shotaro reassures his friend this is nothing that requires that kind of investigative service just yet. Philip disagrees and thinks that is a hasty conclusion to make and notes how his partner fell for the witch and this could be a "weak point" for him. Shotaro gets riled up a bit thinking Philip is making fun of him. Philip asks if anything strange happened when he encountered the witch, which he embarrassingly states there was, she seemingly vanished into the sea. Shotaro regains his composure and is confident he can catch this witch, and even if he loses, he'd like to meet the one who could best him. Both Akiko and Philip think his "defeat flags" are stacking up and decide to keep an eye on things from a distance while Shotaro heads out on the HardBoilder. After eating lunch at Fuumen, Shotaro goes around town asking the Futo Irregulars and regular citizens for info, which they don't have as they have never heard of any witch or just rumors. Shotaro admits in narration that he may have been a bit prideful about taking on the task of finding the witch on his own. There is a little trace of her in details and sightings, but no name to match the thief. Later that night, Shotaro decides to ask his contacts from the homeless community with one of them revealing something that makes Shotaro blush in shock. He only refers to it as a "dangerous rumor" and leaves the readers ambiguous as to what that is. Despite this, there was no solid lead until he gets a call from Watcherman. Shotaro meets up with him, Watcherman got info from his internet blogging friends online and they all refer to the woman as the "Witch of the T Junction", an infamous thief who steals women's clothes from her female victims and money from her male victims. The legend goes that she is unable to be caught and those who try to chase her will somehow end up on the T junction of Yunagi Street and she vanishes. Watcherman is excited when Shotaro tells him that he saw her once, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous witch. Watcherman shows Shotaro a spot where a woman was mugged, but Shotaro stops him during the conversation and slips some money in Watcherman's pocket, thanking him for the info and telling him to get a nice meal and run as fast as he can to safety. Watcherman looks up ahead and sees the witch, ignores Shotaro's advice and tries to snap a photo of her woth his iPhone, only for Shotaro to accidentally knock the phone out of Watcherman's hand and it breaks on the pavement while he was trying to chase the witch. Shotaro cuts her off in a alley and the girl remembers him from earlier. She really believes she is a witch, only referring to herself as Tokime as she claims she does not remember her full name. When Shotaro tries to talk Tokime out of running and just return the bag to Chuuta. Tokime seductively comes close to Shotaro then calls him names that all have "half" in them such as half-baked, much to his annoyance. Tokime sees him as "cute, but useless" and cannot "satisfy her", then knees Shotaro in the groin and flees. Shotaro recovers and chases after Tokime, shouting to her she cannot escape as he knows every inch of his city. Tokime tells him he is no longer in his city and Shotaro is suddenly in a place he does not recognize and gets lost. He sees a shadow in an alley and tries to chase it, but suddenly ends up inside an apartment complex on Yunagi Street on the T Junction. Shotaro is then grabbed by the owner of the building, Renji Tachikawa, who is wondering what a detective is doing sneaking around his apartments as Shotaro panics. The Futo Police Department are called in and Officers Jinno and Makura straighten everything out as Shotaro being held by Renji's enforcers. Mr. Tachikawa is furious as he does not want police or private investigators on his property, thinking Shotaro broke in as he has locks on his doors. Shotaro explains he didn't break in and Renji realizes that Shotaro is after the witch, ordering his men to release Shotaro. Renji says that rumor is so annoying as it is scaring people away from his complex so he doesn't have any tenants. Shotaro makes the off comment under his breath that it is Renji's scary presence that drives them away, only to be silenced by Jinno and Makura before any more problems start. Renji pressures the police and Shotaro on finding and apprehending the witch and leaves. Outside, Shotaro apologizes for causing trouble to Jinno and Makura and is surprised they would go after a simple thief too. Jinno confesses there is more to the case than Shotaro knows...it is also a multiple homicide case. Shotaro talks with Chuuta at Shirogane Snack & Cafe about how Tokime could be a serial killer. He explains that a series of murders has been going on where Tokime has been spotted has also been a location where severed body parts have been found by the police, including one of the enforcers of Mr. Tachikawa's building. Renji has a grudge against the witch and once tired to execute a presumed mob hit on her, which given the body parts, failed. His tenants renting out his apartments are known low level scum such as Yakuza gangsters, fraud groups and crooks. This intimidates the Futo Police and Renji does his best to keep the cops off his property as to prevent them from discovering the illegal activities his tenants engage in. Chuuta is shocked by this revelation, but is still determined to find Tokime. Shotaro reminds him that this is now a dangerous situation as her being a murder suspect means police involvement, thus sticking up for her in these circumstances carries greater risk. Chuuta understands and Akiko mentions she will try to keep the information confidential, even to her husband who is a cop. Akiko and Shotaro agree to continue and Chuuta requests to be contacted when they find Tokime. Shotaro objects a bit at first as she could be dangerous, Chuuta brings up the fact that Shotaro let her escape last time which irks him a bit. Chuuta passionately believes that he can convince Tokime to surrender herself before the police or the gangsters find her and is losing faith in Shotaro. Philip calls Shotaro on the Stag Phone, already aware of how the situation is going and insisting his partner use his services to help in this case as Tokime isn't normal. Shotaro wonders if this is the work of a Gaia Memory, much to Chuuta's confusion. Lily Shirogane explains that the Gaia Memory is "a magic box with great power inside" which angers her grandpa for talking about them so lightheartedly and foolish as he almost lost her to a Gaia Memory once. Shotaro realizes he is in over his head and being stubborn but wants to keep at the case his way for now, with Phillip worried that his partner is falling for "the witch's charm". Phillp's phrase gives Shotaro an idea and a clue to where Tokime could be. The next morning in a public park in Futo, Tokime is bathing naked in a water fountain and then sees Shotaro and Chuuta. Shotaro, ever the gentleman, keeps his eyes covered under his hat and allows Tokime to get dressed. Tokime asks how Shotaro found her, with the detective saying she's quite beautiful for a homeless woman and thus she needed a place to wash in order to stay clean. So he asked his homeless contacts where they washed themselves other than in public restrooms and baths, with one of them saying he saw a beautiful maiden washing herself in the fountain very early in the morning. Shotaro introduces Chuuta to her and she says he is a "nice person". Shotaro insists Tokime return the bag and the stolen money, but she confesses she used a portion of the money already. Chuuta begs her to just hand back the bag and he will let her keep the money if she stops mugging and stealing. As Tokime pulls up her pants, she freaks out and Shotaro soon sees why, as she has a Gaia Memory in plain view tucked under the right thigh string of her panties she was trying to keep hidden. She says the bag Chuuta is looking for is "not in this world anymore" and flees after getting dressed. As Shotaro and Chuuta chase her, they notice that something is off about the city alleyways. It isn't until Chuuta notices the strange surroundings does Shotaro realize he's not in Futo anymore as there is no wind blowing and the city they are in looks like a rundown version of Futo with rusted windmills and bizarre structures. The two are then suddenly attacked by whip-like streams of energy, one of which burns Shotaro's hand. Shotaro realizes whatever this is, it is behind the murders and its weapons are the reason people's corpses were sliced up at crime scenes. He orders Chuuta to follow him and run as fast as he can as the energy whips chase them. Chuuta ducks under a dumpster to safely hide and Shotaro is nearly killed by three incoming energy whips, but the Xtreme Memory shows up and blocks the oncoming attack. Phillip arrives and tells his partner that he isn't trying to hurt his pride, it is just that this case is getting more dangerous than expected and Shotaro needs his power. Shotaro agrees and is helped to his feet, then the two-in-one detectives prepare to face whatever is attacking them. To Be Continued.... Characters Allies *Akiko Narumi *Lily Shirogane *Frank Shirogane *Chuuta Tsubosaki (client) The Futo Irregulars *Watcherman *Queen & Elizabeth (cameo) *Santa-chan (cameo) Futo P.D. *Mikio Jinno *Shun Makura Villains *Sabu (Road Dopant) Others *Tokime *Renji Tachikawa Notes *'References to the Kamen Rider W TV show and series:' **Shotaro mentions Akiko's marriage to Ryu Terui, meaning this manga takes place long after Movie War Core, but there is no mention of Haruna Terui. It is uncertain at this point in time if this manga series takes place before the events of her birth or she simply has not been introduced yet. ***Despite being mentioned by Akiko, Ryu does not appear in this chapter. **Frank Shirogane makes a reference to his granddaughter Lily using a Gaia Memory and the two are working in the coffee shop seen in the Accel chapter of Kamen Rider W Returns. **Santa-chan is briefly seen in a panel at his pet shop from the finale of the TV series. **The Fuumen Cart and its master are seen, with Shotaro having lunch there as he is investigating the case of the witch. **Akiko mentions to Chuuta that Shotaro is great at finding lost cats as an example of the Agency's services. This was brought up several times in the series, starting in Episode 33 and being shown after the war of the Heisei and Showa Riders. *Despite this being the first Kamen Rider W manga chapter, the titular hero does not appear nor does the Dopant villain of the story arc (though her attacks and some of her powers were shown). *The letter T of the chapter refers to a T junction on Yunagi Street where the fabled witch of Futo is often seen and the man the title is referring to is the client of the story arc, Chuuta. The T also can refer to "trap" as Tokime leads people to their doom or misdirects them using her powers. Category:Futo Detective Chapters Category:Futo Detective